Boring problem threatens to unleash 'hell' on Mars Curiosity rover

After surviving that hair-raising descent to the surface of Mars, the Curiosity rover could be undone by its drill. NASA team members say that at some point a bond in the rover's drill mechanism will fail, sparking an electrical short that could shut the rover down. "Unless you do something about it, all hell breaks loose electronically," said Curiosity chief engineer Rob Manning. Fortunately, NASA's brains — who realized the issue too late into Curiosity's planning to correct it — are doing something about it. They installed an extra set of wires that they hope will keep the rover's power supply system safe. Curiosity is currently scouting for suitable rocks on which to test its drill for the first time. [Source]

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